Learn how BZAiL is leveraging Shovels' permit data to revolutionize commercial real estate site selection.

Shovels Spotlight: How BZAiL Uses Real-Time Permit Intelligence To Transform CRE Site Selection

Case Study
Betty Wan

Betty Wan

VP of Growth

BZAiL search interface

BZAiL: The AI Wikipedia of Real Estate Business

BZAiL is redefining how commercial real estate professionals—from brokers and developers to engineers and architects—evaluate land and development opportunities. By combining powerful AI search with jurisdiction-normalized permit data from Shovels.ai, BZAiL turns fragmented government records into lightning-fast insights. What once took weeks of manual research can now be done in minutes—with live permitting activity layered directly into the site selection workflow.

⚠️ The Challenge: Legacy Systems Slowed CRE Momentum

Florida alone has over 400 permitting authorities, each using different formats, standards, and approval workflows. For years, real estate professionals had to cobble together insights from county websites or pay for outdated third-party data. This fragmented ecosystem buried opportunity beneath busywork and made it nearly impossible to gain real-time insight into development momentum or permitting pace.

BZAiL 3D view

⚡ Enter BZAiL + Shovels.ai: Real Estate AI Insights, Delivered Instantly

BZAiL integrates Shovels’ live, parcel-linked permit data—stacked with Regrid’s parcel boundaries—into a single AI-powered map interface. Users can access permits across categories like new construction, plumbing, solar, grading, and demolition, all tagged with key metadata including contractor names, valuation estimates, and dates.

“With Shovels.ai, our users see what’s being built before the market reacts. Permit visibility, zoning analysis, and feasibility—all in one tool,” says Don Powell, COO of BZAiL. “We’ve compressed weeks of research into minutes of insight.”

BZAiL permits view

🧠 1. Instant Permit Intelligence

CRE professionals use BZAiL to surface real-time permitting activity, turning raw records into immediately actionable intelligence. With one click, users can:

  • Estimate real-world approval timelines by municipality
  • Spot development spikes in areas like solar, roofing, or new construction
  • Identify underbuilt zones—ideal for new market entry
  • Ground timelines and LOIs in actual permitting data, not guesswork

Outcome: Smarter deals, faster timelines, and lower risk.

🔎 2. Market Discovery & Job Pipeline Insights

Contractors, subs, and developers use BZAiL to locate hot zones and identify opportunity gaps before the competition. Permit-type filters let users:

  • Track competitor job sites and movement patterns
  • Pinpoint fast-growing neighborhoods for outreach
  • Spot open contracts by trade (solar, plumbing, etc.)
  • Guide expansion or land assemblage strategies using real activity—not assumptions

Result: More efficient business development and better-targeted outreach.

📈 3. Competitive-Edge Feasibility Analysis

BZAiL’s AI-generated reports allow brokers and developers to assess site viability instantly—before investing time or capital.

Users can:

  • Share polished, permit-backed feasibility reports for clients, investors, or city planners
  • Validate site potential using permit activity, zoning compatibility, environmental overlays, and infrastructure availability
  • Replace outdated comps with real-time, defensible data

Results:

  • 100% increase in sites analyzed
  • 25% improvement in deal-to-close rates
  • Shortened due diligence cycles, decreased deal risk

🔮 What’s Next

“Shovels’ data has unlocked a new level of clarity and speed in early-stage site selection and due diligence for commercial real estate pros—making BZAiL a one-stop destination for uncovering development potential across Nation.”

And this is just the beginning. BZAiL plans to expand beyond Florida, launch real-time alerts for new permits, and leverage upcoming Shovels.ai Ai features—like entity extraction to auto-pull square footage, system specs, and more.

Together, BZAiL and Shovels are building the future of real estate decision-making—giving CRE teams the power to move faster, act smarter, and eliminate guesswork with confidence.